Soccer

Liam Scales stars as Celtic make point in Champions League by holding Atalanta

Important draw for Scottish champions in northern Italy as they rebound from Dortmund thrashing

Celtic's Irish defender Liam Scales. Photograph: Isabella Bonotto/AFP via Getty
Celtic's Irish defender Liam Scales. Photograph: Isabella Bonotto/AFP via Getty
Ewan Murray
Wed Oct 23 2024 - 20:14
Champions League: Atalanta 0 Celtic 0

There is no requirement for the big stick this week.

Brendan Rodgers used prematch media duties in northern Italy to insist that particular object is metaphorically used to crack he and Celtic over the head during routine struggles in European competition. The 7-1 defeat at Borussia Dortmund earlier this month was particularly chastising for Rodgers.

This marked a more than adequate response. Celtic defended exceptionally well in defying Atalanta, with Irish international Liam Scales at the heart of the defence. Scoreless parity was just reward for the efforts of the Scottish champions. Celtic were organised and physically robust for all 94 minutes. Atalanta, as one would expect, dominated the ball. What they did not do was lay siege to the Celtic goal in anything like the manner one would expect. Celtic showed the Dortmund debacle may not define their Champions League campaign after all. Atalanta had run out of ideas long before full-time.

Lost in the melee of the post-Dortmund debate was that Celtic had opened their Champions League campaign with a resounding win of their own. That result over Slovan Bratislava, plus the upcoming visits of Club Brugge and Young Boys to Glasgow, mean Rodgers’ team have a highly decent chance of progressing to the playoff round.

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Adam Idah of Celtic competes for the ball with Isak Hien of Atalanta. Photograph: Marco Luzzani/Getty
Adam Idah of Celtic competes for the ball with Isak Hien of Atalanta. Photograph: Marco Luzzani/Getty

The consequences attached to this fixture were not, then, about points return. Instead, it was a test of whether Celtic could be more obdurate than during a wounding night in Germany. The reigning Europa League champions would always supply formidable opposition. Celtic wobbled during Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Aberdeen, in which a 2-0 lead was thrown away. The Italians had plenty cause for confidence.

Yet Atalanta had been inefficient during the opening period. Within 20 seconds, Reo Hatate had coughed up easy Celtic possession, which looked an ominous indicator for things to come. Instead, the visitors were, generally, perfectly disciplined. When concentration was required, Celtic displayed it. They also posed a threat on the break; Nicolas Kühn should have done better when rampaging towards goal in the 10th minute. Arne Engels did test the home goalkeeper, Marco Carnesecchi, the Belgian’s shot batted away.

Atalanta’s early territorial dominance came without reward. Mario Pasalic looked certain to score but blasted his shot straight at the legs of Kasper Schmeichel. Alistair Johnston provided a superb block to deny Ademola Lookman a minute before the break. Those incidents, plus a Mateo Retegui header which Schmeichel dealt with, were the sum of Atalanta’s first-half chances. Celtic headed to the dressingroom at the break in Dortmund 5-1 down; this constituted a moral victory by comparison.

Álex Valle almost snatched an unlikely opener for Celtic within five minutes of the restart. Instead, the full-back’s deflected shot flew narrowly over with Carnesecchi scrambling. Isak Hien headed wide and Marten de Roon forced Schmeichel into action from long range as Atalanta looked to douse frustration in the stands.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s next move raised eyebrows. Retegui, the topscorer in Serie A, was withdrawn shortly before the hour mark. Rodgers responded by replacing Adam Idah with Kyogo Furuhashi. The Irishman made his first Champions League start and spent 68 minutes on the periphery of the game, which he could reasonably argue was hardly his fault.

Gasperini was increasingly agitated. Davide Zappacosta found Schmeichel’s side netting with team-mates screaming for a pass. Celtic’s test with 20 minutes to play was one of endurance. Defending with such intensity had to sap energy. Engels departed, so too did Daizen Maeda, as Rodgers looked to maintain freshness. Valle found Furuhashi with a glorious ball from deep, with the Japanese miscuing his attempted lob of Atalanta’s custodian.

Hien headed over Schmeichel’s bar in stoppage time. Celtic knew they had their point. The celebrations from those in green and white suggested what transpired here meant a great deal more than that. – Guardian